Queen Vic pub was made for long nights

There are those nights when one drink turns into four, when it just so happens that there are more intriguing beers on the menu than you counted on and your friend’s new boyfriend is more hilarious after having a few than you expected. Everyone stays out a bit too late and will definitely need a painkiller in the morning. These are good nights.

This is the sort of thing that happens at Queen Vic, the English pub from the owners of Oporto. The pressed-tin ceilings and exposed filament light bulbs of the current old-is-new trend in bar décor are attractive enough to bring in someone pretty yet comfortable enough to suit the weary after a long day of fox hunting. Even on a Tuesday evening, a solid crowd populates the tables right up to closing time to indulge in sausage rolls with mustard, masala lamb burgers and flights of craft beer.

The changing beer options are scrawled on the oxidized mirror over the bar. It wouldn’t be unheard of for a rare cask of something local to be on special alongside other interesting choices such as the 8 percent ABV Devastator Doppelbock and the milkshake-thick 512 Pecan Porter.

The cocktail list, including a frothy Planters Punch dashed with nutmeg, is accented with exotic ingredients such as cardamom, tumeric and jaggery, an unrefined brown sugar made from palm sap. The Bury Ginger features — among other things — vodka, hibiscus, lime and ginger beer swizzled over crushed ice.

You’ll know it’s time to go home when the servers start stacking chairs, but before that happens, drink some water, thank the bartender and quietly appreciate your friends for always making the night seem as though it’s ending too early.